The Instituto Cervantes publishes a DELE calendar a year at a time, and the date that decides whether you sit the exam is not the exam date at all. It is the registration closing date, which falls five to six weeks earlier. Miss it and the session is gone, whatever your level. This page explains how the calendar is built and how to read the current one, alongside the Myndaq DELE course.
How the session calendar is built
A DELE year runs to a repeating shape rather than fixed dates:
- Around seven sessions a year, spread from February to November.
- Registration for the whole year opens on a single day, some weeks before the first session, and each session then closes on its own date.
- Every session closes five to six weeks before its exam day. That gap is the single most useful number on this page.
- Two sessions a year run across a Friday and a Saturday, because the levels are split between the two days. The rest are a single day.
So when you open the current calendar, read it as a list of closing dates with exam dates attached, not the other way round.
Why the closing date is the one that matters
Instituto Cervantes states the rule plainly in its registration terms: once a session's registration period has closed, registration is not permitted under any circumstances. There is no late window, no waiting list and no discretion at the centre. A candidate who is ready in March but discovers the April session closed in February is not sitting in April, however well prepared they are.
That is why this page is organised around closing dates. Find the session you want on the current calendar, note its closing date, and treat that as your real deadline - then put a reminder in your own calendar two weeks before it, because the closing date is the single point in the process that allows no slippage.
Levels are not offered at every session
The calendar fixes dates, not availability. Some sessions carry the full range from A1 to C2; others carry a narrower set, and the smaller sessions in particular may not include the level you need. Two things therefore have to be checked together: that the session offers your level at all, and that the centre you want to sit at is running that session. Neither is visible from the date alone.
What the calendar does not tell you
The calendar fixes dates, not availability. Not every session offers every level, and not every examination centre runs every session. Before planning, confirm two things with the centre where you intend to sit: that your level is offered on that date, and that the centre runs it. Cervantes publishes its centre finder alongside the calendar.
Note the refund window too: as a general rule candidates have 14 calendar days from the date of registration to request a refund of the fee paid.
Choosing a session
Work backwards from the registration deadline, not from the exam.
- If you need the diploma for a deadline of its own - a citizenship application, a university enrolment, a job offer - count back from the day you need the certificate in hand, not from the exam day. Results take time to publish and the diploma takes longer to issue. Pick a session with margin, not the last one that technically fits.
- If you are preparing from scratch, pick a session whose closing date is far enough out to leave you a full preparation block, then count back five to six weeks from the exam to find the day you must have registered.
- If you are already close to your level, the February session is the first chance of the year, but its deadline falls in the first days of January - right after the holidays, which makes it the one candidates most often miss by simple inattention. Check the exact date on the Cervantes calendar before you count on it.
A practical rule: put the registration deadline in your calendar two weeks early as the reminder. It is the one point in the process that allows no slippage.
Quick answers
When does DELE registration open?
The Instituto Cervantes opens registration for a whole year's sessions on one day, some weeks before the first session of that year. Each session then has its own closing date.
How many DELE sessions are there in a year?
Around seven, spread between February and November. Not every session offers every level, so check the current calendar for yours.
Which is the first DELE session of the year?
Usually February - and it is the one candidates most often miss, because its registration closes in early January, right after the holidays.
Why do some sessions span two days?
Two sessions a year are split across a Friday and a Saturday because different levels sit on different days. The current calendar marks which ones.
Can I get a refund if I cannot attend?
As a general rule there are 14 calendar days from registration to request a refund. After that, check the conditions set by your examination centre.
Preparing for the date you choose
Once the session is fixed, the useful work is the same at every level: a timed diagnostic first, skill-by-skill practice aimed at whatever that diagnostic exposes, and complete timed papers in the final weeks. The Myndaq DELE course organises practice by skill and explains each answer in Spanish. If you are still deciding which level to enter, the DELE exam guide covers the format and the grouped pass rule. Spanish speakers may prefer the Spanish-language version of this calendar.
